System for lubricating cables or the like

ABSTRACT

A lubricating system has a pump to force a viscous lubricant from a supply of lubricant to a lubricator at which the lubricant is to be dispensed onto a cable, wire, or the like that is being pulled through a conduit. A sensor, associated with a spool from which the cable is being dispensed, is be used to automatically control the amount of lubricant that is to be dispensed onto the cable. A second described system comprises a custom bucket or bucket insert which allow a cable to pass through the bucket whereupon lubricant will be automatically applied to the cable and the container includes a profiled base to ensure proper passage of the cable through the lubricant and ensure the maximum usage of any lubricant.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/742,027, filed Jan. 14, 2020, entitled “System for Lubricating Cablesor the Like,” which is a non-provisional application claiming priorityfrom U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/792,196, filed Jan. 14,2019, entitled “System for Lubricating Cables or the Like,” both ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present description relates generally to lubricating cables and moreparticularly to a system for lubricating cables or the like.

BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART

Systems and method for lubricating cables are generally known in theart.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,420 describes a lubricator by which lubrication isprovided for the pulling of a cable through a conduit by using one ormore lubricant nozzles on a nozzle head secured to the leading end ofthe cable so that, while the cable is pulled through the conduit, thelubricating material is sprayed outwardly onto the interior walls of theconduit ahead of the leading end of the cable being pulled.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,059 describes a lubricator including a splithousing. Lubricant is introduced into the housing through a verticallyoriented orifice, the cable advancing in a generally horizontaldirection. A series of sponges apply lubricant to the cable in a meteredfashion.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,356 describes an automatic cable lubricating devicethat includes a lubricant supply tank having an internal chamber and aregulating means for regulating the flow of a pressurized lubricant fromwithin its internal chamber, a lubricant dispensing head having a cablefeeding aperture therethrough and a plurality of lubricating ports, anda flexible lubricant supply hose having a first and second end. Thedispensing head further includes an input port. The first end of thesupply hose has a connecting means for connecting to the regulatingmeans downstream of the supply tank. The second end of the supply hosehas a connecting means for connecting to the dispensing head input portsuch that a lubricant under pressure stored within the internal chamberof the supply tank may be dispensed through the lubricating ports. Theregulating means may be adjusted to control the output of lubricant fromthe lubricating ports. The dispensing head includes a conduit attachmentmeans for attaching the dispensing head to a conduit such that in usethe lubricating ports dispense the lubricant into the conduit soattached.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,973 describes an automatic wire lubricating devicethat includes first and second components each having a body section ofsemi-annular configuration defining a portion of a continuouscylindrical interior reservoir formed by the body sections when they arefastened together into an annular body defining a central opening. Apipe fitting is attached on an outer circumferential side of the bodysection of the first component in flow communication with the interiorreservoir such that the pipe fitting can be coupled to a soap linecoming from a pump. Dispensing holes circumferentially spaced apart anddefined through the body sections provide flow communication from theinterior reservoir to the central opening and coupler pins formed onopposite ends of the body sections of the first and second componentsfit together so as to make a tight seal of the interior reservoir whenthe first and second components are fastened together.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,143,866 describes a cable lubricating device having apump to force a viscous lubricant from a supply to a lubricator at whichthe lubricant is to be dispensed onto a cable that is being pulledthrough the conduit. A battery powered motor drives the pump and a footpedal is used to control the motor.

The disclosure within each of these patents is incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

SUMMARY

Described herein are improved systems and methods for lubricating cablesor the like.

A first described system has a pump to force a viscous lubricant from asupply of lubricant to a lubricator at which the lubricant is to bedispensed onto a cable, wire, or the like that is being pulled through aconduit. A sensor, associated with a spool from which the cable is beingdispensed, is be used to automatically control the amount of lubricantthat is to be dispensed onto the cable.

A second described system comprises of a custom bucket or bucket insertwhich allow a cable to pass through the bucket whereupon lubricant willbe automatically applied to the cable.

A better appreciation of the objects, advantages, features, properties,and relationships of the subject systems will be obtained from thefollowing detailed description and accompanying drawings which set forthillustrative examples which are indicative of the various ways in whichthe principles of the described systems may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the systems hereinafter described,reference may be had to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a first example system for applying lubricant onto acable;

FIG. 2A illustrates a second example system for applying lubricant ontoa cable; and

FIG. 2B illustrates a detailed view of a conduit of the second examplesystem of FIG. 2A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of example methods and apparatus is notintended to limit the scope of the description to the precise form orforms detailed herein. Instead the following description is intended tobe illustrative so that others may follow its teachings.

The following describes systems and method for applying lubricant onto acable, wire, line, or the like.

Turning to FIG. 1 , one or more sensors 10 are attached to or otherwiseassociated with a spool 8 that carries a cable 11 onto which lubricantis to be applied. The sensor(s) 10 can generate one or more signals thatare used, in turn by, for example, a pump controller, to control theamount of lubricant that is to be applied onto the cable 11 via use of acontrollable pump 12 that functions to force a viscous lubricant 14 froma supply of the lubricant 14, via a connection 16, such as for example aconduit, to a lubricator 17 at which the lubricant 14 is to be dispensedonto the cable 11 that is being moved therethrough. Once passing throughthe lubricator 17, the wire 11 may be fed into a further conduit 19, ormay be otherwise suitably captured, such as for instance by beingre-spooled onto a different spool, or returned to the spool 8.

Generally, the example sensor(s) 10 monitor how fast the cable is beingdrawn from the spool 8 and/or may monitor how much cable or a length ofthe cable that is being drawn from the spool and, accordingly, how fastthe cable is being drawn through the lubricator and/or how much cable ora length of the cable that is being drawn through the lubricator. Anyspeed sensor(s) and/or distance sensor(s) provided for this purpose maybe combined into one component or one sensor as desired. The sensor(s)utilized for this purpose may include accelerometers, optical sensors,encoders, and or the like.

The sensor(s) 10 are further preferably provided with a transmitter tocommunicate signals to a receiver 15 at the pump controller (which maybe integrated into the pump 12 or which may be a separate component).The transmission of the signals from the sensor(s) 10 to the pumpcontroller is preferably accomplished by means of a suitable wirelesstransmission protocol. As noted above, upon receipt of signal(s) fromthe sensor(s) 10, the pump controller can determine how much of thelubricant 14 the pump 12 is to provide to the lubricator 17 from thesupply of the lubricant 14. To this end, the example pump 12 optionallyincludes a potentiometer that is coupled to the pump controller wherebythe pump controller controls the potentiometer to adjust the flow-rateof the pump 12 to a desired amount given the signal(s) received from thesensor(s) 10.

It is also contemplated that the pump 12 may be provided with anoverride 13 to allow a user to momentarily switch off the system. Inthis manner, a user can perform any suitable action, including forinstance, unwinding a cable 20 from the spool 8, braiding and/orsplicing a new wire, etc., as desired without causing the system toprovide lubricant 14 to the lubricator 17.

It is further contemplated that signal(s) generated by the sensor(s) 10can be provided, in an alternative example, to another controller thatmay be used to control a system that functions to adjust a size of anorifice, such as for example within the conduit 16 or the lubricator 17,through which lubricant 14 is being provided to the lubricator 17 forthe same purpose of controlling the amount of lubricant 14 that is to beprovided onto the cable 20. The system that functions to adjust the sizeof the orifice may be a motor controlled clamping mechanism, motorcontrolled orifice, or the like without limitation. A manuallycontrollable system that functions to adjust the size of the orifice mayalso be provided for use in connection with an automated pump to allow auser to fine tune the system as needed.

Turning to FIG. 2 , a further system is illustrated that utilizes acustom bucket 210 or bucket insert which allows the cable 20 to passthrough the bucket 210, automatically applying lubricant onto the cable20. In the illustrated example, a “dipstick”-like item with a hook, suchas for instance a known fish-tape provided by IDEAL Industries (e.g.,fish tape 205), will be used to initially pull the free end of the cable20 through the bucket 210, more particularly, through an inlet aperture212 provided to the bucket. A profiled base 240 is preferably providedwithin the bucket 210 and is used to bias a lubricant 214 into desiredportions of the bucket 210. The cable 20 proceeds through the bucket210, passing over the profiled base 240 and in this example, into aninner conduit 216 comprising a foraminous surface. The foraminoussurface of the inner conduit is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2B. Thecable 20 exits through an outlet aperture 218 located proximate theinlet aperture 212 or in another location (e.g., a top of the bucket210). The foraminous surface allows any excess lubricant 214 to returnto the bottom of the bucket 210. Preferably the size of the inletaperture 212 and/or the outlet aperture 218 is adjustable to controlapplication of the lubricant 214 to the cable 20.

As further shown in FIG. 2 , an interconnection system 260 may beoptionally provided to help connect custom bucket 210 with lubricant 214and coiling bucket 220 with cable storage therein, at the base of thebuckets. The example interconnection system 260 helps feed the cable 20from the coiling bucket 220 through the inlet aperture 212 to the bucket210 with lubricant 214, and out through an outlet aperture 218, whileavoiding exposure and/or tangling etc. of the cable 20.

Although certain example methods and apparatus have been describedherein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. Onthe contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus, and articles ofmanufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claimseither literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.

We claim:
 1. A system for lubricating comprising: a pump configured toforce viscous lubricant to a container and onto a cable that is beingtraversed through the container; at least one sensor for generating oneor more signals indicative of a rate of movement of the cable; and apump controller configured to receive the one or more signals from theat least one sensor and to automatically control the amount of lubricantthat is to be forced onto the cable via use of the pump according to theone or more signals.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the cable is atleast one of a wire rope or a rope.
 3. The system of claim 1, whereinthe cable is traversed through the container by a pull-feed device. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein the pump is fluidly coupled to thecontainer via a conduit.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at leastone sensor comprises a sensor mounted to a spool from which the cable isbeing withdrawn.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the spool is externalto the container.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or moresignals indicative of a rate of movement of the cable comprise dataregarding a speed of rotation of a spool from which the cable is beingwithdrawn.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more signalsindicative of a rate of movement of the cable comprise data regarding alength of cable being withdrawn.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein thepump comprises a manual override control.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the pump comprises a potentiometer in communication with thepump controller, the potentiometer configured to adjust a flow-rate ofthe pump.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the pump comprises anadjustable orifice through which the lubricant is forced.
 12. The systemof claim 11, wherein the orifice comprises a motor-controlled clampingmechanism in communication with the pump controller, and wherein thepump controller adjusts a size of the orifice to affect the amount oflubricant applied to the cable.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein thecable is drawn through the container with a dipstick.
 14. A system forlubricating comprising: a first container storing a cable; a secondcontainer in communication with the first container and configured toreceive the cable from the first container; a pump configured to forceviscous lubricant into the second container; at least one sensor forgenerating one or more signals indicative of a rate of movement of thecable; and a pump controller configured to receive the one or moresignals from the at least one sensor and to automatically control theamount of lubricant that is to be forced into the second container viause of the pump according to the one or more signals.
 15. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the lubricant is applied to the cable by drawing thecable through the second container.
 16. A method for lubricatingcomprising: providing a pump configured to force viscous lubricant to acontainer and onto a cable that is being traversed through thecontainer, the pump comprising an adjustable orifice; providing at leastone sensor for generating one or more signals indicative of a rate ofmovement of the cable; providing a pump controller configured to receivethe one or more signals from the at least one sensor and toautomatically control the amount of lubricant that is to be forced ontothe cable via adjusting the adjustable orifice according to the one ormore signals; and drawing the cable through the container.